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Connect the World
Rebels Fighting Rebels in Syria; U.S. Adds Disappointing 74,000 Jobs In December; Indian Government Expels U.S. Diplomat From Post
Aired January 10, 2014 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Well, tonight, putting a break on the economic recovery. A disappointing U.S. jobs market report sends global investors searching for answers. I'll ask the head of one of the world's largest bond holding firms why he thinks today's report is puzzling and worrisome.
Also ahead, France's president threatens to sue after a magazine alleges he's having an affair with this actress. But could the scandal actually help boost Francois Hollande's dismal approval ratings?
And...
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been really, really hard at the very start with these heavy sleds, nearly 200 kilos each.
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ANDERSON: Walking in the footsteps of legends. We'll meet the explorers tracing an historic route across the harsh terrain of Antarctica.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is Connect the World the Becky Anderson.
ANDERSON: Well, there are certainly some politicians in the U.S. who are talking of a recovery, but new numbers tell a very different story in the world's biggest economy. The latest figures from the U.S. indicate that December was actually the worst month for job creation in nearly three years.
Now the U.S. economy added 74,000 new jobs in the last month of 2013. That number well below forecast estimates. The national unemployment rate now stands at 6.7 percent. That's down from 7 percent, but that change mainly due to people giving up on finding work and leaving the job market altogether.
And despite the downward trend, some sectors of the U.S. economy are seeing growth. The retail sector, more than 55,000 retails jobs were created in December.
CNN's Maggie Lake has been crunching these numbers for you.
Are we seeing any real clear trend at this point, Maggie?
MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think, Becky, most can agree it's subpar. I mean, this is a lagging part of the recovery. We thought we'd see stronger numbers by now.
When it comes to that payroll number itself, though, a lot of analysts and experts today telling me that you need to discount that a little bit. December was very cold. It got cold and snowy early. So they think the weather may be messed around with the numbers a little bit, also the fact that we have the holiday in there.
When it comes to the unemployment rate, though, that drop, I think it's a little bit harder to tell what's going on there, you said, because of people dropping out, they're discouraged, that might be part of it, although some of it might also be college. Younger people, college age students who may be just step back temporarily because of the holiday. And also some people retiring. Those Baby Boomers are starting to retire.
So economists have a little bit harder time figuring out the trend and the story there.
I think they want to put together a few months of these reports before we can really find out what's happening with the labor market.
ANDERSON; Let's have a look at the sectors, because I'm fascinated to see where the jobs are and where they aren't' at this point. Manufacturing added some 9,000 jobs. That sector's performance throughout 2013 was sluggish. The U.S. economy only created half the manufacturing jobs that it did in 2012.
And construction, well, that fared particularly poorly in December and 16,000 jobs lost across the country in the last month of 2013.
So how do you read these changes in growth in the sectors, Maggie?
LAKE: This part is very important, Becky. And the reason we pay attention and we're concerned about this is service sector jobs are great, but they tend to be lower paying jobs than some of those manufacturing jobs.
Now maybe construction might be temporary, again, because of the weather, but when you look at manufacturing this seems to be more structural in nature and more problematic. And I heard someone lay out a great example this week of the contrast.
Kodak, you remember well in its heyday, rang the opening bell. They just came out of bankruptcy. Toward their peak they had in excess of 100,000 workers. Again, a lot of those what we considered solid middle class jobs. What took over -- Instagram, digital photography. You know how many employees Instagram has? 13.
This is a massive technological shift. And we need to figure that out if we're going to hope to get some of those long-term people off of the unemployment ranks. So that's a really tough problem if you're looking at how you really fuel rapid growth.
ANDERSON: Yeah. Interesting.
All right, Maggie, thank you for that. Always a pleasure having you on. Maggie Lake out of New York for you.
Well, despite its recent economic and financial troubles, the U.S. remains a global powerhouse of trade and investment. And the effects of unemployment, they are felt worldwide, which is the sort of so what, what do I care on our side, isn't it?
10.4 million Americans are currently unemployed with nearly 4 million people counted among the ranks of the long-term unemployed. And jobs numbers in the U.S. are closely watched by global stock markets. And you see the Dow Jones market just off a little bit today.
The Europeans, it's got to be said, having a not bad day at all.
My next guest says today's jobs number out of the U.S. fall somewhere between puzzling and worrisome.
Mohamed El-Erian is the CEO of PIMCO, which is a global investment firm. He joins us from Newport Beach in California.
Puzzling, why? And we'll do the worrisome afterwards.
MOHAMED EL-ERIAN, CEO, PIMCO: So puzzling because of what Maggie said. Everybody believes that there's an impact of the weather and that explains two things. One is why this report is so inconsistent with other reports that have been suggesting a strong recovery. It also may explain the big miss, because afterall 74,000 relative to expectation of 200,000 that's a very large miss.
So there's reasons to believe that there were some one-off factors, the weather being the most likely impact and people analyzing.
Having said that, Becky, there are also some worrisome elements in this report.
ANDERSON: What are they?
EL-ERIAN: So first, those who are employed aren't seeing any earning growth. Earning growth was flat. That's disappointing. Second, the amount of long-term unemployed is stuck at about 4 million. That's almost 38 percent of the population. And the longer you're unemployed the harder it is to get a new job. So the problem starts getting structurally embedded into the economy.
So even if the weather was indeed responsible for some of the disappointment, this is a reminder that while the U.S. is picking up. And undoubtedly 2014 will be a better year than 2013, we're nowhere near escape velocity as yet.
ANDERSON: Right. And that's really interesting, because I know for some time you've been looking at a gradually improving U.S. economy in 2014. I know that there is some good news to be had out of this report on that.
But is there any reason to change your sense of where the U.S. is going in the short to medium term? Because what the U.S. does, of course, is incredibly important to what happens elsewhere.
EL-ERIAN: So the answer is there isn't enough here to change our view and for two reasons. One, as I said, this report is probably distorted by weather. But secondly and importantly, this is just one month. And any economist will tell you that these numbers are subject to quite a wide margin of error. So it's better to take a multi-month.
The multi-month conclusion is what is earlier, which is that the economy improves, not fast enough, so unemployment will remain a problem, inequality will remain a problem. So the rest of the world will see some better global economy, because the U.S. is doing better, but it's not going to be a breakthrough economy.
The second thing is that the fed will remain hyperactive. So while it will reduce what it's doing in terms of buying securities in the market, what's called QE, it will compensate this. So the fed will continue to be involved.
Now, the rest of the world is going to have mixed feelings about this, because on the one hand it's good news because it's supporting the U.S. economy. On the other hand, it's bad news because it causes distortions and instability outside the U.S.
So the rest of the world is going to have very mixed feelings about this notion of the fed remaining involved in this experimental mode that it's been in for while.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. Well, we'll get more as the quarter continues. For the time being, though, always a pleasure.
Mohamed, thank you very much indeed. The man whose policies and financial sort of acumen is important to a massive part of the financial markets.
Well, this is not a story about numbers, of course, it is about people and the struggle they face when all they want is a job. Read some of those specific stories on the website, not just the financial difficulties, the prejudices people face as well. That and wider implications of these jobless numbers for the U.S. all at CNN Money.com.
Still to come tonight, delight in the Central African Republic as the interim president resigns. We'll bring you a live report on that up next.
And as rebel forces in Syria turn on each other, we'll bring you the latest on a war within a war.
And securing Sochi: with the Winter Games just weeks away, officials insist they are ready for any threat. That and much more after this. You're watching Connect the World.
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ANDERSON: Delirious celebrations in the Central African Republic on Friday after the country's controversial interim president and prime minister resigned.
Crowds mobbed the streets of the capital after news of President Djotodia's resignation came from the summit meeting in Chad. That's where regional leaders had demanded it.
Well, the Central African Republic has been hit with deadly violence, religious violence for nine months after Djotodia's Muslim rebels forced the president, the previous president to flee.
Vladimir Duthiers is monitoring the crisis from Nigeria. And he joins us now from Lagos.
Certainly, people absolutely delighted to see this resignation. What does it mean, though, for the people of the CAR?
VLADIMIR DUTHIERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Becky.
Well, as you saw from that video, the crowds erupted into the streets in celebration after Michel Djotodia forcibly, some say, resigned from the interim presidency that he'd held since March where he took over power from the Presidnet Francois Bozize who had been democratically elected. Bozize fled to Cameroon.
And since his tenure, we've seen an orgy of violence. The United Nations and other aides groups say that almost 1 million people have been displaced since the violence began back in March and that 2 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
The Seleka group that you mentioned, this Muslim-backed group that installed Michel Djotodia as interim president carried out this campaign burning down villages, killing men, women, children and the elderly. And just in December alone, even though Djotodia had disbanded the Seleka group in September, in December, in two days, 1,000 people were killed.
So, it's not very clear -- this is certainly welcome by the other regional African leaders in the area and certainly by the French government, which had sent 1,600 French soldiers as part of a UN mandate to help support the 4,000 African troops that are already in country. This is certainly welcome development and will hopefully lead to some semblance of stability in the Central African Republic. But it could also lead to a power vacuum. We're simply not sure, Becky.
ANDERSON: Some news on the CAR this evening. Vlad, thank you for that.
To the east in South Sudan, government forces say they've retaken the key northern city of Bentu, that's the capital of the oil rich Unity State that rebels loyal to ousted vice president there had controlled.
Now fighting between the two sides also has been reported around the city of Bor. That's north of the capital Juba. Talks in Ethiopia to end fighting have made little progress.
Well, in Iraq, some calm has returned to the embattled city of Fallujah. The government says it's holding off on further attacks against tribal fighters an al Qaeda militants inside the city. Now it's hoping to avoid civilian casualties and keep from further inflaming local Sunnis.
Health officials say some 60 people have been killed in the fighting so far. The insurgents still hold Fallujah and parts of Ramadi as the standoff in Anbar Province enters its second week.
The civil war in Syria has taken on a dark new dimension as rebel fighters battle each other. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are set to be with the UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi on Monday ahead of what is the so-called Geneva II peace conference. But the war no longer just rebels against the Assad government, now there is a war within a war.
We caution, you may find some of the video in Ivan Watson's coverage disturbing.
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IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They march through Aleppo's battleground streets carrying bodies of the dead and chanting revenge, but not against the government of Bashar al-Assad, this crowd is cursing al Qaeda, al Qaeda-linked militants accused of executing at least 42 prisoners who had been detained at a children's hospital in the northern city of Aleppo.
Amateur footage, some too gruesome to broadcast, shows some victims hands bound before execution. Many of those killed here were Syrian rebel fighters.
Opposition controlled northern Syria is in the midst of a war within a war.
(on camera): The black flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria continues to fly over the Syrian border town of Jerablus (ph), which has been the scene of days and nights of fierce fighting as Syrian rebels tried to evict this hardline al Qaeda-linked group from opposition controlled northern Syria.
(voice-over): At night, a car bomb explodes. It's been a week since a coalition of rebel groups mounted a coordinated assault on their al Qaeda-linked rivals all across northern Syria. One of the anti-al Qaeda rebels tells me the militants were just too extreme for the Syrian people.
"They're worse than Bashar al-Assad's regime," this rebel says. "They banned smoking cigarettes. And if my wife went out showing even an inch of skin they would arrest her."
The clashes with al Qaeda so close to the border have Turkish border guards on alert. Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria moved quickly in recent months, establishing strongholds across the Syrian north. They're accused of going on a kidnapping and killing rampage, targeting anyone who challenged them.
Among the hundreds of people believed to have been kidnapped by the group was Turkish newspaper photographer Binyamin Igun (ph). Last Sunday, he escaped unharmed after 40 terrifying days of captivity with help from another Syrian rebel group.
"Even the fighters who helped me escape look like al Qaeda," Igun (ph) says. "They may not wear the same masks, but they have the same flag that says god is great. And they wear the same shalwar kameez uniforms all in black."
In fact, there are hardline al Qaeda inspired militants battling on both sides of Syria's newest conflict; it's war within a war.
Ivan Watson, CNN, on the Turkish-Syrian border.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Winter Olympics in Sochi. And Russia says it is prepared to deal with any terrorist threat.
The militants in the Caucuses region have called for attacks against the games, but as senior international correspondent Nic Robertson tells us from Moscow, Russia and some participating countries are deploying unprecedented security.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In the wake of twin terror bombings in Sochi's nearest major transport hub, Volgograd, where 34 people died, Russia's top Olympic official tells CNN he is convinced they've got their Olympic security formula right.
DIMITRY CHERNYSHENKO, PRESIDENT, OLYMPIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: It didn't change at all, our initial Olympic mode in terms of screening, and in terms of the security.
ROBERTSON: The Sochi security systems got a test from the top-down a year ago, he insists. President Putin oversaw rehearsals.
CHERNYSHENKO: It's project number one in our country and it's under the permanent control of President Putin himself.
ROBERTSON: But on Wednesday and Thursday this week, barely 170 miles, 240 kilometers, away from the newly constructed Olympic village, six bodies were found in four vehicles, some rigged to explosives, one detonating as police approached.
New vehicle security checks just enforced in an exclusion zone around Sochi are designed to keep just such threats at bay. Officials here are holding their nerve.
CHERNYSHENKO: We hosted an incredible amount of international (inaudible) World Cup world championship was a great test for security.
ROBERTSON: But it's not enough for everyone.
FBI Director James Comey says U.S. law enforcement and federal officials are already here in Russia, ready to assist American athletes in what he describes as a particularly challenging safety environment in Sochi.
U.S. athletes can also count on security help from Global Rescue, a medical and security contractor that's no stranger to danger, airlifting Americans from Egypt during the Arab Spring in 2011.
Russian officials remain convinced they are ready, even though the latest shootings leave many more questions than answers.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Moscow.
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ANDERSON: Well, one of our top stories online today pretty much all day in fact addresses what many see as a defining characteristic in the Muslim world. And as you might expect, it is sparking quite a debate. A poll recently asked residents of seven predominately Muslim countries who women should dress. Options range from full burka to the hijabs that you see here and no head covering at all. Well, the findings show the wide spectrum of views not only between countries, but within them. You can see the results and leave your own thoughts. CNN.com/international.
Well, live from London, this is Connect the World. Coming up, a diplomatic rift between India and the U.S. suffers. Now New Delhi is asking Washington to withdraw an official from its embassy.
Up close and personal and the French president doesn't like it. Why Francois Hollande says his magazine violated his privacy. That, after this.
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ANDERSON: This is CNN.
Now, the diplomat at the center of a month-long diplomatic controversy is back home in India. Devyani Khobragade was arrested and strip searched in New York last month, you may remember, and has been indicted on federal counts of visa fraud and making false statements.
Well, on the day she returns home, the Indian government is also asking the U.S. to withdraw a diplomat of equal rank from New Delhi.
And CNN's Sumnima Udas joins us now from New Delhi with the very latest from here.
This sounds like tit-for-tat. Is it?
SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN INTERANTIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly does, Becky. But the Indian government continues to say this is not tit-for-tat, that when it comes to relationships, diplomatic relations between two countries, it's all about reciprocity. So, the U.S. should treat an Indian citizen, or certainly an Indian diplomat in the same way that the U.S. would expect its citizen or diplomat to be treated in India.
Now, the diplomat has arrived -- when she arrived here at the Delhi airport, there was a large media presence practically mobbing her. She had to be taken from a separate exit over there, but she did have the chance to say a few words, basically thanking the nation for all the help, thanking the government as well.
Now you would think now that she has arrived the controversy would have ended, but it certainly hasn't. Earlier today India has also asked the U.S. embassy to send back, or to withdraw, one of the U.S. officials here. And Jen Psaki, who is of course the spokesperson for the State Department in the U.S. has also confirmed that story. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: I can confirm that a U.S. official accredited to the mission -- to mission India will be leaving post at the request of the government of India. We deeply regret that the Indian government felt that it was necessary to expel one of our diplomatic personnel. This has clearly been a challenging time in the U.S.-India relationship. We expect and hope that this will now come to closure. And the Indians will now take significant steps with us to improve our relationship and return it to a more constructive place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UDAS: Officials in both the U.S. and India have continued to maintain that this relationship between the two counties is a very important relationship. We're talking about bilateral trade of about $100 billion. We're talking about the two largest democracies in the world.
So according to the prime minister of this country, even, this hiccup that we've seen, this diplomatic row should not affect their larger relationship between the two countries -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Sumnima Udas for you in India.
Well, the latest world news headlines just ahead, as you would expect at the bottom of this hour on CNN.
And too close for comfort. A French magazine calls for photographs after it alleges details about Francois Hollande's private life. The latest from Paris for you.
And, the last episode in our series Tracking the Ivory Trade. We're going to find out about the terrible consequences on African wildlife.
And we'll catch up with these polar adventurers and tell you why they are battle the Antarctic elements to recreate an historic journey.
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ANDERSON: The U.S. economy added just 74,000 jobs last month according to the U.S. Labor Department. These are your headlines. And that is far fewer than the more than 200,000 analysts were anticipating. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 percent.
The president of the Central African Republic has resigned. Michael Djotodia agreed to step down at a regional summit of leaders in Chad. The former rebel leader has been unable to end the growing sectarian violence in his country.
A bloody week of fighting in Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Right says nearly 500 people have been killed in fierce clashes there. Victims include more than 200 rebel soldiers, 150 ISIS fighters, and 85 civilians.
The European Union says it's made, and I quote, "very good progress" in nuclear talks with Iran. Negotiators are in Geneva working towards a deal on the country's controversial nuclear program. In November, Iran made the agreement in exchange for an easing of sanctions.
France's president reportedly may sue a gossip magazine after it made salacious allegations about his private life. Now, this is the "Closer" magazine, and it published a series of photographs which allege that Francois Hollande was having an affair with the French actress Julie Gayet. Earlier, the magazine said it was pulling the photos from its website after pressure from Ms. Gayet's lawyer.
A statement from Hollande's office to AFB reads, "Hollande deeply condemns the attacks on the right to privacy, which he has a right to like everybody else." The president says he is looking into possible action, including legal action against his public -- this publication.
Well, the news agency also reports the actress filed a complaint last March over rumors of the affair. CNN has reached out to the president and, indeed, to Ms. Gayet, but received no comment as yet.
Well, France is notoriously tough on privacy. Its civil code states that, and I quote, "Everyone has a right to privacy." It made a constitutional right in France in 1995. The law bans disclosing details on someone's private life and taking unauthorized photographs.
Well now, private life isn't spelled out in the law, but courts generally accept that it covers romantic and family life, leisure activities, and state of health. Damages awarded are often in the range of tens of thousands of dollars.
Let's get a sense of what people on the streets of Paris, at least, are saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I think it's a revolting magazine. I don't think it's interesting at all. It's Francois Hollande's private life. I think life is life. I think it's an uninteresting issue, and I think there are many other, more important issues in France than this one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I think he's a person like any other, and he has the right to a private life like anyone else. Anyway, we don't know if it's a rumor or not. I think it's quite pointless.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I find this quite low, frankly. It's not interesting. He can react the way he wants, it's his private life. But honestly, it's completely pointless.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: "Closer" magazine says that this has nothing to do with invasion of privacy. Instead, they say it's an issue of security. Let's get the latest from Paris. Christian Malard joins us this evening from the capital.
Christian, in the past, the French media have been considerably more circumspect about their leaders and allegations about their love lives. Why have things changed of late, do you think?
CHRISTIAN MALARD, INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC COMMENTATOR: Well -- yes, probably since the Monica Lewinsky affair in the states with Bill Clinton, who might have lost his job as president because of this affair, the French media have been more focusing on the private life of the president.
It's true that a president of the republic here has a personal life which is far more exposed than one of a regular citizen like me or some other French in the area. So, the French president officially did not deny, officially, that he might have had an affair with Julie Gayet.
He is just saying, well, I don't want to have a breach into my private life. I am a private citizen also, I am a French president, but I need to have my private life. Everybody should understand that.
But at the same time, if you look back at our history of presidents -- and Becky, you know France very well -- you'll realize that maybe apart from Charles de Gaulle, we don't know too much about private life.
ANDERSON: Sure.
MALARD: Since Valery Giscard d'Estaing, we had Francois Mitterrand. Francois Mitterrand had many mistresses, and I just want to remind you, when he died, at the funerals, you had the regular woman, his wife, the regular wife, Danielle Mitterrand. And you had the mistress.
So, the French are not shocked like the British or the Americans would be by this kind of affair. In fact, it's -- I wouldn't say snowball business, but at the same time, it doesn't matter.
ANDERSON: Yes, have a look at the latest poll, then, Christian, for IFOP, in fact, for French magazine "Paris Match," and it shows that President Hollande has 26 percent approval rating, that's pretty low. It is, though, up 3 percentage points from December.
At around the same point in his presidency, the approval rate of Nicolas Sarkozy was almost double that. So, does this poll, at least, suggest that whatever is going on in the background, could he do with an affair at this point, do you think?
MALARD: Becky, I think this kind of affair, if it's confirmed, might probably bring sympathy for the president. French people say, well, Francois Hollande is a normal being. He has a love affair. As I said, some of our former presidents had love affairs. What's the hell about that? Much ado about nothing.
At the same time, I don't think it's going to make him lower in the poll. It's not going to fear. Will it get higher? I'm not so sure. People here are so much preoccupied with the economic crisis, with the hope that they will get jobs.
The rate of unemployment is so high here that this kind of story, Julie Gayet or whoever -- it's not a huge affair. It's not -- it's much ado about -- I would not say nothing, but much ado about a kind of love affair that a president might have.
ANDERSON: All right, Christian, thank you for that. Christian Malard is in Paris for you this evening. The allegations from "Closer" magazine are still just allegations. Over the years, the world of international politics has been littered with cases of affairs that leaders did admit to. Christian was name-checking some of those.
Francois Mitterand served as president of France from 1981 to 1995. One of his affairs led to a secret love child, a daughter. The president ordered illegal wiretaps on journalists who knew about her.
After leaving office, former UK prime minister John Major admitted a four-year affair with the former Conservative cabinet minister Edwina Currie. He told a newspaper it was the one event in his life that he was most ashamed of.
And perhaps that most high-profile of cases, President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did not have sexual relations with that woman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, President Clinton first denied a sexual relationship with the then White House intern, a statement that later led to his impeachment by the US House of Representatives.
All right, what do you think about what's going on in France? Has the magazine crossed the line, or do you think politicians forgo their privacy when they enter the public eye? The team here wants to know at CONNECT THE WORLD, of course.
Let us know what you think, facebook.com/CNNconnect. You can always get me on Twitter @BeckyCNN. That's @BeckyCNN. We're on Instagram as well. Just search for Becky CNN. You can find there the daily preview of the show as well. That's Becky and CNN.
Well, live from London, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. After a short break, the last episode of our series Tracking the Ivory Trade. Our team goes to the Republic of Congo, where they find out about the disastrous consequences on the African wildlife.
In the footsteps of history. How a team of modern-day explorers are battling frigid temperatures and sheer fatigue to relive the past. Both those stories are coming up.
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ANDERSON: Fueled by an insatiable demand from Asia, the destructive and illegal ivory trade is on the rise. The United Nations says trade in ivory has tripled since 1998, and it decimated Africa's elephant population.
Well, this week, we've brought you exclusive reporting on what is this multibillion-dollar trade, the fifth biggest industry in the world, I'm told, in some places. Our team in the Republic of Congo followed a group of dedicated park rangers hot on the trail of poachers.
We saw the rangers entrap an infamous bush meat trader and witnessed their disappointment as they faced corruption within their own ranks. Now, these rangers also shared with us the investigative techniques that enable them to track a small piece of ivory to a Chinese construction camp.
Our investigation took us to China, where we teamed up with former basketball star Yao Ming, who is encouraging China's upwardly-mobile to kick the habit and stop buying ivory. And yesterday, we saw how the Republic of Congo, poachers often themselves are facing a familiar enemy: former poachers turned protectors.
With scarce manpower averaging one guard for every 178-square kilometers, and fears of corruption within their own teams, are the park rangers facing a losing battle?
Tonight in the final part of CNN's exclusive series, Tracking the Ivory trade, senior international correspondent Arwa Damon, along with photographer Peter Rutten and producer Brent Swails discover it's not just the endangered elephants under threat. The whole of Odzala National Park in the Republic of Congo itself is at risk. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're searching for the Western Lowland Gorilla, a critical endangered species. Tracker Zephirin Okoko motions for us to put on our masks and stay silent. We've reached the tree.
DAMON (whispering): This is absolutely incredible. And what allows for us to be this close to the gorillas is the fact that they've been habituated but it's a lengthy and painstaking process.
If a troop is friendly, like this one was in the beginning, it takes around three years, but it can take up to 10. Otherwise, the gorillas would have run away as soon as they heard the sounds of our footsteps in the forest.
DAMON (voice-over): It's a unique experience, one that Okoko knows is becoming more rare. "I see the gorillas as my family, my children," he tells us. "When I see people kill gorillas, when I see that, it brings me to tears."
At stake, not just the survival of this species, but the survival of the Republic of Congo's Odzala National Park, a stunning mosaic of open and closed-canopy forest and savannah, also hope to a vanishing population of forest elephants. Its protection, some 13,500-square kilometers, or the size of Connecticut, falls on just 76 eco guards.
From the flashes and markings in the vegetation, the men figure out the direction of the target. They take cover in the undergrowth, barely visible. This is a training exercise, but the war out here against elephant poachers and bush meat traders is very real.
MATHIEU ECKEL, ANTI-POACHING AGENT, AFRICAN PARKS: So, for me, it's like guerrilla work. You must make two jobs. Law enforcement, but convince people, too.
DAMON: At this community meeting, Eckel, who heads the park's anti- poaching division, is attempting to do just that. Though not with much success. He's trying to get new recruits for his program that gives poachers amnesty if they give up their gun and confess.
Though the villagers are wary, this is still progress. It was just a month ago that Eckel and his men were being chased out of these areas. But everything out here takes time.
On patrol, they move slowly, carefully, pausing to listen to the sound of the forest, searching for clues of the poachers' activities, and documenting every detail.
DAMON (on camera): Every single time they find a casing, they GPS its specific location, and they're also constantly keeping track of the endangered, need-to-be-protected species, so if they hear the sounds of chimpanzees, gorillas, elephants, they'll also take note of that and try to determine exactly how big the group is. Because they're still trying to map out this entire massive forest.
DAMON (voice-over): A painstaking process to discover, preserve, and appreciate one of the last remaining Edens on the planet.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Odzala National Park, Republic of Congo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, the Chinese are the world's largest buyers of ivory. To show its commitment to the fight for -- against this illegal trade, China this week destroyed more than six tons of it. Several animal welfare groups praised the move, including the World Wildlife Fund. Their chief species advisor in the UK is Heather Sohl, and she joins me now in the studio.
A show of willingness, perhaps, and only that. But a good show of willingness? Were you delighted to see what the Chinese had done this week?
HEATHER SOHL, CHIEF SPECIES ADVISOR, WWF: It was absolutely a fantastic sign to see. It shows that they are wanting to address this as a serious issue, recognizing that most of the illegal ivory that is coming from Africa is heading to China, where it's used in carvings and sold as ornaments, jewelry, and very often requested as gifts.
ANDERSON: On the Chinese black market, let's just have a look at these demand figures, because I was shocked by these when I first saw them. Ivory can fetch up to $3,000, I believe, per -- what is it? -- kilogram. And it isn't just elephant ivory that attracts black market buyers, of course. CNN's Ivan Watson looked at the sale of ivory in traditional Chinese medicine. Let's have a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's not just elephant ivory. This is a box of traditional Chinese medicine that's advertised to include one key ingredient: rhinoceros horn.
Now, some Chinese believe that this has incredible healing properties, that it's almost a wonder drug. And that's why 20 years after the Chinese government banned its sale, rhino horn is still a valuable commodity on the black market.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Where there is demand, so shall go supply. This is the age-old story, isn't it? And when you follow the money, you find that these stories are often much deeper and also more pervasive than you thought in the beginning. Is this a trade that can be stopped?
SOHL: It is a trade that can be stopped, but it has to be addressed at the level as which it's set. At the moment, it's not considered a serious crime. It's given a low priority within government budgets, it doesn't have adequate resources.
But it's making huge amounts of profits for these criminal syndicates, and yet, the risk of being caught is very low. So, you don't have to be a genius to know that's a business model they'll follow.
ANDERSON: I certainly know that this February the UK government will host a global summit on illegal trade in wildlife. David Cameron will attend that summit in London, along with the heads of government and other high-level representatives from as many as 50 nations.
Given this sort of momentum, as it were, towards getting this up to a kind of higher level so far as legislature is concerned, but the Zimbabweans, for example -- and let's just take this as an example -- they blame the black market in elephant tusks on the ban on the ivory trade. Not everybody -- and certainly not in Africa -- do governments buy this trade as being one that shouldn't be allowed.
SOHL: Well, there is an argument that you could say if there's enough product to supply the demand, then it could be solved, but at the moment, there aren't the controls in place to make sure that we're separating the legal ivory from illegal ivory.
Thailand's a classic example. They allow the legal sale of ivory from domestic elephants, but when it's openly for sale in shops, the law enforcers can't tell whether it's from Africa or Asia, and therefore, it's just openly sold, and it allows laundering.
ANDERSON: Am I right in saying that there is still a trade in poaching tourism in Africa? I certainly was in a safari park myself in Kenya only about 18 months ago and heard talk of tourism in poaching.
SOHL: Well, it's not something that is the major problem. The major problem that we're facing are these criminal networks. We're seeing increasing numbers of large --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: But we should soul-search, surely, shouldn't we? Naval gaze a little bit, if we're to say this is an illegal, destructive, and disastrous trade, but we'll still go on poaching ourselves.
SOHL: Absolutely. We have to take this seriously. We have to invest the resources. It's not just something that impacts on wildlife, either. It has an impact on the local people, on the rangers who are putting their lives at risk every time they go out.
And it impacts on economic development, because people aren't going to go on eco tourism holidays if the wildlife's not there.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. Well, we've been delighted with the quality of work that Arwa and her team have been doing this week, and we've showcased it here on CONNECT THE WORLD. Come back and tell us how you're doing a month or so or a quarter or so from now. Because this is a story which of course isn't going away. Thank you very much, indeed.
And if you've missed any of those episodes of Tracking the Ivory Trade or want to watch them again, you can view them on the website, cnn.com/international. You can read articles there, too, with more about the investigation.
We are going to take a very short break at this point.
(AUDIO GAP)
ANDERSON: -- of Antarctica. That --
(AUDIO GAP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, it's an epic challenge ten years in the making, an attempt to retrace the ill-fated steps of Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott. The goal: to make it to the South Pole and back unassisted.
We first told you about the modern-day explorers on this historic journey when they set off late last year, and now we find out that the harsh conditions have take a toll, but haven't dampened their spirits. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): For ten years, they planned and trained for an expedition attempted just once but never completed.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, ANCHOR: Well, a British explorer sets out today on a journey to retrace the steps of Captain Robert Falcon Scott.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: -- for adventure, Ben Saunders is determined to succeed where one of --
ANDERSON: When Ben Saunders and Tarka L'Herpiniere set off to Antarctica last October, they could not have been better prepared to finish what the ill-fated British explorer Robert Falcon Scott did not 100 years ago: walk to the South Pole and back unassisted.
Unlike Scott, who died after running out of supplies on his way back from the Pole, this two-man team was armed with superior equipment, some state-of-the-art, some just practical.
TAKARA L'HERPINIERE, EXPEDITION TEAM MEMBER: At the moment he cut the hands lock, but I'm going for a luxury pull-handle length. But in order to compensate for the weight, I've got to make holes in it.
The pair saved every gram of weight they could, crucial when carrying 110 days-worth of supplies across 2,900 kilometers of cruel terrain in temperatures plunging to minus 50 degrees.
PAUL ROSE, VICE PRESIDENT, ROYAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY: It's a really tough journey. It's almost impossible. And the reality is is that you reach an equation where you want more food and fuel, but the reality is, if you carry more food and fuel, your sled just got so heavy that you can't move.
ANDERSON: When Saunders and L'Herpiniere arrived in Antarctica on October the 25th last year, they were confident they'd got the right balance. But within just a week, the weight of their load combined with the unforgiving climate was taking its toll.
BEN SAUNDERS, EXPEDITION LEADER: It's been really, really hard at the very start with these heavy sleds, just nearly 200 kilos each. Not much scenery today, we had almost complete white out. But fingers crossed, things improve tomorrow.
ANDERSON: The journey, though, only got tougher, and despite all of their planning and superior equipment, after reaching the South Pole, Saunders and L'Herpiniere found themselves facing the same problems as Scott on the return journey: they had run out of food. But, unlike Scott, the pair was able to call for backup.
ANDERSON (on camera): They aimed to complete this journey without aid. In the end, they needed a food drop. So, how would you sum this trip up? Is it a success or a failure?
(LAUGHTER)
ROSE: I think it's a great unqualified success. It's a tremendous journey, 1800 miles. And the fact that they had to get an air drop support, I mean you could almost have counted on it.
It's so ambitious to do that journey totally unsupported, that if I was a betting man, I probably would have even bet on a bit of support. Why not? If Scott and his men had been in that circumstances, they would have accepted an air drop, too.
ANDERSON: That air drop has enabled Saunders and L'Herpiniere to continue their historic journey, which they now expect to complete when they arrive at Scott's Hut in mid-February.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Good luck, and we will endeavor to get in touch with them either just before or when they make it, and we do hope they do.
OK, the Hollywood award season kicks off this Sunday with the Golden Globes, and critics call this year's crop of films a wide-open race with few front-runners. Isha Sesay has a preview for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR AS SOLOMON NORTHUP, "12 YEARS A SLAVE": But I don't want to survive. I want to live.
ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Historical dramas "12 Years a Slave" and the 70s-era "American Hustle" lead the Golden Globes pack with seven nominations each. The black-and-white indie "Nebraska" has five.
GEORGE CLOONEY AS MATT KOWALSKI, "GRAVITY": Explorer's been hit! Explorer, do you read?
(SANDRA BULLOCK AS RYAN STONE SCREAMING)
SESAY: Space spectacular "Gravity" and high-seas adventure "Captain Phillips" are up for four awards a piece. Lots of big-name stars are up for acting honors --
LEONARDO DICAPRIO AS JORDAN BELFORT, "THE WOLF OF WALL STREET": Oh, my God.
SESAY: -- including Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Wolf of Wall Street," Cate Blanchett in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine," Emma Thompson taking on Walt Disney in "Saving Mr. Banks," Dame Judi Dench for "Philomena," and Robert Redford as a struggling sailor in "All is Lost."
There were some new names that could also win: Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o for their roles in "12 Years a Slave."
IDRIS ELBA AS NELSON MANDELA, "MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM": I am angry!
SESAY: Under all that makeup, Idris Elba in "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" and Matthew McConaughey as an AIDS patient in "Dallas Buyers Club."
TV's best will also be honored.
ANNA GUNN AS SKYLER WHITE, "BREAKING BAD": You're a drug dealer.
SESAY: After its fall finale, "Breaking Bad" could win more gold. Competition includes Netflix's pioneering "House of Cards" and the British hit "Downton Abbey." Tina Fey and Amy Poehler return to co-host the show. Millions of viewers in nearly 200 countries watched last year. Many call the Golden Globes an unofficial dress rehearsal for the Oscars.
Isha Sesay, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: All right. Just before we go, tonight's Parting Shots for you. Beach-goers in New Zealand got a bit of a flight -- sorry, I mean fright today. It may look like an ordinary takeoff for this small aircraft, but the scenic flight turned very scary. Engine failure forced the plane into the surf, flipping the plane into the water. And you can see there again from a different angle.
Tourists were around to capture it. It was actually the second crash of the day, so that poor pilot, he had originally made an emergency landing on this beach. Miraculously, no one was hurt. My goodness.
I'm Becky Anderson. From the team here in London, it is a very good evening. That's CONNECT THE WORLD. CNN, though, continues. Thanks for watching.
END
